Suspended flat arch for furnaces, kilns, and the like



Nov. 1, 1932. s. F. BURNET 1,385,800

SUSPENDED FLAT ARCH FOR FURNACES, KILNs, AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 10.1929 //\/\/6/vroe 5AM F. 502M677 QrToe/wsYs and thus prevent the escapeo Patented Nov. 1, 1932 UNITED a SAMUEL F. BURNE'I', 0F WEBSTER GROVES,MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO LACLEDE CHRISTY CLAY PRODUCTS COMPANY, OF ST.LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION 01 MISSOURI susrmmnn nmrr ARCH non.FURNACES,

- AND 'rnn'r.

Application filed August 10, 1929. Serial No. 885,011.

This invention relates to fiat arches, such as are used in furnaces,kilns and the like,

and'particularly'fiat arches of the type that are made up of tilesuspended from an over- 5 head supporting structure in such a way thatbecome wedged tightly together under the heat of the furnace of whichthe arch forms the roof or top wall.

The main object ofmy invention is to overcome this inherent defectofconvention- 0 al suspended flat arches,. without adding greatly to thecost of the arch and without reducing or interfering with the eificiencyof the arch.

To this end I have devised a suspended fiat arch which is providedintermediate two of its opposed edges with one or more meansdisposedparallel to said edges, that permit adjacent sections of the arch lyingat opposite sides of said means to expan and contract without subjectingthe arch tile to dangerous or destructive strains or pressures. T emeans above referred to preferably consists of one or more closedexpansion joints in-the arch, disposed at-a point or points intermediatetwo opposed marginal edges of the arch, and a mass of asbestos or othersuitable compressible, fire-resistant material arranged in said joint orjoints in such a way as to serve as a filling for same, the heat, fiamesand gases from the furnace chamber. men the arch tile expand under theinfluence of the heat to which they are subjected when the furnace is inuse, said mass or, masses of fire-resistant material permit adj a'centsections of the arch l g at opposite sides of said material to e ongatewithout liability of exerting a terrific crushing strain or pressure onthe tile constituting'said sections, said fire-resistant material havingSuficient compressibility to provide for the relative movement ofadjacent sections of the arch. When the arch tile contract thefireresistant material between the adjacent sections of the arch expandsor resumes its former condition. Means is preferably provided forprotecting said fire-resistant mate I rial'from the direct action of theflames of the furnace, and while various means may be used for retainingthe fire-resistant material in operativeposition and for protecting itfrom flames or temperatures tending to disintegrate or deteriorate thesame ll prefer to provide some of the arch tile with portions. thatserve as a supporting means for the fireresistant material and also as ashield for said material. I wish it to be understood, however, that themeans which is used to provide for the longitudinal expansion andcontraction of the arch can be constructed in various ways withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention, and thatit is immaterial howmany expansion joints or similar means the arch is equipped with,'solong as said joint or joints are located intermediate the extreme endsof-the arch and are disposed transversely of the arch.

Figure 1 of the drawing is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view ofa suspended flat arch constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary end view of said arch, illustrating how thearch tile are suspended from the overhead supporting structure thatcarries the arch; and

Figures 3 and 4 are perspective views of two of the arch tile that areused in the zone or zones of the arch in which the'expansion joints arelocated. A I

In the drawing, A designates a plurality of I-beams or, othermembersthat extend transversely across a furnace or kiln chamber abovethe roof of said furnace, and B designates longitudinally-disposedmembers,

usually consisting of castings, that are attached to the transversebeams so as to form a supporting structure for a flat arch made uprincipally of tile 0, which are provided at t eir upper ends with slots1 of such shape that they can be strung upon or slid along de-' pendingportions 2 on the longitudinallyisposed members B of the overheadsuporting structure in the operation of building the arch. The tile (Jare so arranged that the arch comprises a plurality of separate anddistinct relatively, movable sections, that are separated from eachother by means that permit adjacent sections of the arch to elongate ormove longitudinally of the overhead sup orting structure when the archtile C expand and contract, without subjecting said arch tile todestructive or dangerous strains or pressures. In the preferred When thearch is subjected to a sufiiciently high temperature to cause the archtile to expand, the sections of the arch lying at opposite sides of theexpansion joint elongate or move longitudinall relatively to each other,with the result t at the tile constitutin said sections are not cracked,broken or -ot erwise injured. When the tile constitut ing said secionscool or contract, said sections contract or reduce in length, and theasbestos or other material a: in the expansion joint or joints expandsor resumes its former condition in which it acted as a closure for theexpansion 'oint or joints that efiectively prevents the ame, heat orgases from escaping from the furnace chamber.

In order to retain thefilling material w in the expansion joint betweentwo adjacent sections of the arch, and protect said material from thedirect action of the flames of the furnace, I prefer to construct thearch partly from special tile D and D that are arranged in transverserows at the adjacent ends of two sections of the arch located atopposite sides of an expansion joint. As shown in Figures 1 and 3, thetile D are mounted in a similar way to the tile C and are similar ingeneral construction to the tile C, except that each ofthe tile D isprovided at its lower end with an integral flange or projection 3' thatis positioned under the material a: so as to form in efi'ect a closurefor the lower end of the slot or expansion joint in which the material:v is positioned. The tile D, which are also arranged in a rowtransversely of the arch, are disposed oppositely to the tile D, andeach of said tile D is provided at its lower end with a recess, notch orcut out portion 4 of such shape and dimensions as to be capable ofreceiving the flange 3 on the tile D to which it is op' posed whenadjacent sections of the arch,

expand or move longitudinally towards each other and compress theasbestos :1: arranged in the groove formed between the twotransversely-disposed rows of tile D and D. In other words, in myimproved suspended fiat arch the major portion of the arch isconstructed of tile C of conventional design suspended from the overheadsupporting structure in such a way that they are capable of movinglongitudinally of said supporting structure, and one or more groups ortrans-. verse rows of special tile D and D are arranged in spacedrelation, so as to form an expansion joint that is preferabl filled withasbestos or some other suitable re-resistant material, which specialtile are preferably so constructed that portions on the tile of onegroup serve as a supporting means and shield for the fire-resistantmaterial and lap over the tile of the other group which are providedwith recesses, notches or the like that receive said shield portions onthe opposed tiles, and thus permit the opposed groups of special tile tomove tpwards and away from each other when the sections of the archlying at opposite sides of the expansion joint elongate, due toexpansion of-the archtile, or reduce. in length, due to contraction ofthe arch tile. 7

A suspended flat arch of the construction above described can be builtat practically the same cost as a suspended flat arch of conventionaldesign, but it effectively eliminates the possibility of the arch tilebecoming cracked or broken, due to expansion of the arch tile. Aspreviously stated, the means herein illustrated for permitting the archtile to expand without subjecting them to destructive or dangerousstrains or pressures represents only one form of my invention and can bearranged in various ways and replaced by any suitable equivalent meanswithout departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I- claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

A suspended fiat arch for furnaces and the like, comprising an overheadsupporting structure, rows of tile suspended from said supportingstructure and arranged to form a pluralit of separate and distinct. archsections, eac of. which is made up of 'a plurality of tile, an expansionjoint'between said sections located at a point remote from two of theopposed edges of the arch and 611$- oosed m'allel said ed a ofcompnsssib e fire-resistant material in said joint,

and means for maintaining said fire-rest material in position andprotecting it from the direct setion of the flames of the .1 i ice,comprising snhstnntially L-shaped tile forming part of one of said. archsections ami arranged so that the horizontal legs of some serve as asupport for said fire-r 1 material, and co-acting tile f0 part of theadjacent arch section and. provided at their lower ends with recesses,notches or cut-outs that form a, clearance-for the horizontal legs ofsaid h-shapedl tile.

SAMUEL F. BNET.

